Defeated

Chapter 2

"So...what's the verdict? Am I going to finish my latest box set or not?" Carla mumbles, she was sat in a private room at the hospital. Holding hands tightly with Peter who was in the chair next to her, a doctor sat on the other side of the desk opposite the pair.

"Carla...stop joking about this." Peter sighs.

"Oh, sorry." She rolls her eyes, sarcastically before looking back at the doctor. "Come on then, spit it out."

"The blood tests and ultrasound have given us more information on what's going on..."

Earlier this morning...

"Right, if you can lay on the bed for us then we can start the ultrasound. This is nothing to worry about; I'm just going to ask you to lift your top up and I'll put this wand onto your stomach so we can take a look at your ovaries." The nurse explains, softly.

Carla follows her instructions, lifting up her jumper and pulling down her leggings slightly so the doctor had full access to her midriff. Michelle had come last night to bring over an overnight bag that contained her clothes and other essentials.

Memories of Carla's pregnancy came into mind through this process. She may not be pregnant and what she was currently going through something that didn't relate to pregnancy in any sort of way however, she went through this routine at her 12 week scan. Even though Peter had not been there for her, it was still such a happy moment full of excitement towards the future. Now though, now she was in the process of finding out whether she had a deathly disease that kills so many.

A tear had accidentally cascaded down her cheek, she rubbed it away as quickly as possible and hoped neither the nurse or Peter had seen it but he did.

"Hey, you're okay." He squeezes her hand, finding this too extremely tough. That was an understatement. He was completely overwhelmed that this was happening and couldn't bare the thought of Carla leaving him. He had to be strong for her, if he broke down in tears constantly then that'd make Carla feel even worse and more frightened.

"I know, I know." She mutters, trying her best to smile at her soulmate but she just about managed the faintest twinge in her mouth.

"It's okay to be scared, baby. Showing your emotions is good." He prompts.

"It might be nothing. What's the point getting upset over something that might not even be there?" She says after a few seconds silence. Denial was overpowering her and it was starting to hurt Peter how she was acting. She was either being negative and shutting him out or joking about death.

"Is everything...okay? You know, as it should be?" Peter questions, looking up at the nurse.

"A doctor will be with you to discuss everything soon, alright?" She smiles.

"So it's bad news then? Surely if everything was fine then you could just tell us that now." Carla shakes her head.

"It's just the process I'm afraid. We do this whether it's good or bad news." She replies, getting some towels to wipe Carla's stomach that was covered in clear gel.

"We have reason to believe that you have ovarian cancer. I'm so sorry." The doctor announces, hating this part of the job.

Cara just looks down, biting her lip and fiddling with her fingers. Meanwhile, Peter looks across to her. His eyes so watery that he couldn't see a clear image and a few tears had already escaped down onto his face.

"What now?" Carla mumbles after minutes of silence. She was still not looking at anyone, scared to show emotion so instead staring at the ground.

"The next step is a needle biopsy. A needle will be placed through your stomach to remove a sample of ovary cells or fluid from around the ovaries which will then confirm the diagnosis. It will also determine how far it might've spread."